Review: Logitech UE Mobile Boombox Bluetooth Speaker

Makers of portable bluetooth speakers all have to grapple with the proper ratio of size to audio quality, with the majority settling for the best sound they can get out of the housing that’s about six to eight inches long, and two to three inches deep and wide. Logitech aims for the more ambitious with its UE Mobile Boombox, a unit that’s only about four inches wide. As if to make the ambitious intentions clear, it comes in color choices such as black with a red speaker grille, or white with a blue grille, along with tamer options like all-black or all-white.

Interestingly enough, the audio from the Mobile Boombox sounds impressive at medium and low volumes despite its small size. It has a better sounding bass kick than some larger speakers, and a full sounding bass to treble ratio. It does lack of stereo separation, and loses some audio integrity when cranked to across-the-room volumes. But at the kind of volumes you’d use it at while sitting on your desk, it sounds eighty percent as good as the best $99 systems twice the size.

In the name of keeping the unit small and sleek, there are only buttons for volume and pairing, and those three buttons combine to take up nearly the entire top surface of the unit, making them easier to access than the tiny buttons found on some competing units. Play-pause and next-previous buttons would be welcome additions, but are rarely found at this price point anyway. Perhaps the best feature of the UE Mobile Boombox, aside from its size, is that it offers ten hours of battery life, which is more than the five to six that most competitors offer. Bottom line: if size and space count for a lot in your decision making process, this is one of the best bluetooth speaker options you’ll encounter.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 • Price: $99 • ue.logitech.com